Mega Man Quint: The Birth of Quint
by RandyPandy
Summary: Just who is Quint? Where did he come from? What is his connection to Mega Man? This is the story of a little known character in the Mega Man universe. MMC, Book 1 of 7
1. Prologue

**Mega Man Quint: The Birth of Quint**

by RandyPandy

Welcome to the Mega Man Quint series! This will be a series of books featuring a practically unknown character in the Mega Man video game series: Quint. Yes, Quint. If you have not played the games Quint appears in and want to know which ones he appeared in, I suggest you locate The Mega Man Network (a website about the games) or The Mega Man Hompage. I've yet to see a site dedicated to Quint, though.

**NOTE**: This was originally known as Timescape Saga, Book 1: The Birth of Quint. However, having discovered a series on the Mega Man area of with the same name, I decided to change it, since the other one was there first. Oops.

Disclaimer: Everything you see here doesn't belong to me. It all belongs to Capcom. The expression of it and any plot-holes that happened to be filled belong to me though.

* * *

Dr. Albert W. Wily had just had an idea. True, it wasn't as genius and sneaky as a few of his other ideas, such as tricking Proto Man into fighting his own brother, but it would probably get the job done. And it was sneaky enough to make him laugh with glee. 

He had reconstructed eight of his previous Robot Masters and fled to his space fortress orbiting just above Earth after Mega Man had foiled the fourth Robot Rebellion. He was very annoyed at the blue pipsqueak, and had been plotting revenge ever since. Unfortunately, he had not come up with anything – until now.

A spy device he had planted in a place known as Chronos Institute had revealed a prototype machine that could be the answer to all of Wily's dreams. No one at Chronos Institute even knew that Wily knew of their machine, which they had been keeping secret for the past decade or so. In fact, they were keeping it secret even before Proto Man had been built. Wily smiled at the thought of how the machine could help him.

However, Dr. Wily, while insane, was not stupid. He knew what the consequences of his actions might be. Did the cost really outweigh the benefits? If his plan – and the machine – worked, then he would forever be rid of the blue pipsqueak known as Mega Man. If his plan – and the machine – didn't work, then the universe as people knew it could become rather violently messed up. And he didn't want to suddenly pop out of existence.

Dr. Wily pondered his decision for a very long time – several hours at least. There was no way that he could ask the Robot Masters – they didn't really understand the consequences of his actions. They were just robots, after all. Finally, he decided on the oldest method of making decisions.

Flipping a coin.

Even the mad scientist himself thought that it was silly, though he refused to allow it to bother him. Wily had stolen money from Dr. Light's lab when he had fled, so it was easy for him to locate a 10Z coin. He stared at the coin for awhile, before saying to himself, "Heads, I do it. Tails, I don't."

The universe works in strange ways. There are even theories that each and every action creates a new universe. As Wily flipped the coin, one such path was created. The coin landed on the table, and Wily eagerly looked to see what the outcome had been. As soon as he saw the outcome, he walked towards his computer and said through the speakers, "Calling all Robot Masters to Laboratory 2A."

Then he picked up some blueprints for a building and walked out of the room, neglecting the coin lying on the table. If one could see the coin, then it won't be hard to see the head of the latest president of Japan on it.

In that one coin flip, the universe was altered indeed.

* * *

Okay, that prologue looks kinda strange, even to me. Especially the coin-flipping part. But... shrugs Read and Review!  



	2. Ambush

**Author's Note: If you have not read the Prologue, I suggest you do so.** It turns out that when I uploaded yesterday, my sleep-fogged brain put the first chapter up without putting in the Prologue. Oops.

Also: Don't be shy! Tell me what you think! It will help me become a better writer.

* * *

**September 18, 2057**

"Ah, it's so peaceful nowadays!" Rock smiled as he lazily lay down on a hilltop near the laboratory. "Especially now that Wily is no longer around to cause trouble."

Rock, as Mega Man, had finally defeated Wily in his ninth major attempt at world domination. Rock had cleaned up the latest batch of Robot Masters: Sonic Man, Tech Man, Mineral Man, Lock Man, Shock Man, Neuro Man, Lava Man, and Marine Man.

Afterwards, Skull Fortress had been completely obliterated by Mega Man, and Wily had gone missing, presumably dead as evident by the patches of red human blood that was found in his personal laboratory.

Rock had given up the identity of Mega Man, and had settled down to a peaceful life with his creator, Dr. Light, his sister, Roll, his friends, Auto and Eddie, and the pets, Rush, Tango, and Beat. Sometimes, even Blues would show up, although he still kept the identity of Proto Man. For several years now, Rock had been enjoying his peaceful days.

He rolled over on the grass so that he was facing the city below the hilltop. He smiled fondly at the city that he had been protecting for years. Rock was glad that everything was so calm nowadays.

That is, until he saw a strange blue light flash from the city. Jumping up, he stared at it. "What the...?" he stammered out. Then he heard screaming from the city. Rock hightailed it back to Dr. Light's laboratory. "DR. LIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" he screamed.

The elderly human ran out, panting. He looked at Rock. "I saw," he said grimly. Rock ran into the house and together they both studied the scans of the city. "According to the radar, it's Dr. Wily's robots..."

"What! I thought Wily was dead!" Rock protested.

Dr. Light shook his head. "I thought so too; so did Roll, Blues, and just about the entire world! But Wily's apparently still around. What's strange, however, are the robots he's using; Bass and Treble are nowhere in sight, and they are Metal Man, Wood Man, Air Man, Crash Man, Needle Man, Magnet Man, Hard Man, and Top Man."

Rock started. "O... kay... why would Wily be using Robot Masters from thirty years ago?"

Dr. Light shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea, though that blue light gave me some strange readings, unlike anything that I have seen before."

"Dr. Light! I'll suit up as Mega Man again and go after them!" Rock suggested.

"Suit up! Rock, you haven't fought for awhile! There's no telling what'll happen to you!" Dr. Light protested.

"Doctor, I must! Who else will save the city!" Rock argued back.

Dr. Light stood there, gazing at Rock's face for a few minutes. Finally, he gave a tiny nod. "Alright Rock... I'll let you suit up again."

* * *

Rock gazed down at the familiar suit of blue armor and sighed. Despite the fact he had requested that he re-suit in the armor, he still didn't want to go off and fight again. Especially Wily. But now, he had no choice. He had volunteered, and now he must live with the consequences. 

He had no idea how large the consequences will turn out to be.

Rock – no, Mega Man – turned his head as he saw Dr. Light coming, Roll at his heels. The girl's face looked tired, worried, and scared at the same time, which was a pretty good feat. Dr. Light sat down and began to explain a few things to Rock.

"Rock, listen. Since you haven't fought in awhile, some of your skills will be rusty. Also, most of your abilities wore out from age and lack of use. It is possible that if you use some of the abilities you have left too much, it will cause them to overload and short-circuit. For example, if you overload your Buster, it could cause it to stop firing."

"Okay then..." Rock said. "I'm leaving!"

"Good luck, Rock!" Roll called, running up to her brother and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Rock smiled at his creator, gave his little sister a quick hug, and teleported out of the house.

* * *

The city of Tokyo was nearly in ruins when Mega Man reached it. He stared in disbelief as the civilians raced past him, screaming. Mega Man stumbled through the crowd, trying not to injure any of the panicked humans. Once, a red-haired girl ran right into him and then latched onto him, begging him to save her. Mega Man had gently pulled her off of him and had sent her with the other civilians. 

Judging from where the strange blue light had come from, Mega Man made his way towards what he believed was the center of the attack. He was right.

Standing in the middle of the city square was the insane scientist himself: Dr. Wily. His Robot Masters were standing nearby, which, Mega Man noticed, didn't look nearly as upgraded as they had when he had fought them last time. Dr. Wily himself also looked younger than Mega Man remembered. Near the group was one of Wily's trademark Skull Ships, which had a rather unusual looking device attacked to it.

"Ah, if it isn't Mega Man!" Wily smirked, grinning at the blue robot.

Mega Man didn't bother to hide his surprised look as he literally skidded to a halt. "Wily! But you're dead!" he protested.

Wily suddenly looked slightly unnerved, but the expression quickly disappeared from his face. He looked over Mega Man. "Silly boy!" he chastised. "It'd take more than that to kill me!" He gestured at the robots. "You know what to do! Keep him busy until I can prepare the machine!"

_Now_ Mega Man was a bit curious. He wondered why Wily would rather prepare his machine instead of just commanding the Robot Masters to outright kill him. But he didn't have a chance to ponder the question anymore, as all eight Robot Masters attacked.

For awhile, Mega Man had no idea how long he fought Wily's Robot Masters. He dodged a Metal Blade, barely managed to avoid the spinning Top Man, and nearly collided with Magnet Man's Magnet Barrier. He continued rapid firing, as he had no time to charge.

"Almost done!" he heard Wily's voice shout from the Skull Ship. Mega Man felt a slight sinking feeling in his stomach as suddenly all of the Robot Masters stopped and circled around him. He knew they weren't out for his blood; Wily had told them exactly what to do, and it probably wasn't going to be pleasant for Mega Man.

"Wood Man! Now!" Wily suddenly shouted. Mega Man had nowhere to dodge as the huge Robot Master did a barrel roll on him, knocking the wind out of him. Mega Man dizzily sat up, trying to get his bearings, when he noticed all eight Robot Masters converging on him.

Mega Man started charging his Buster for the first time since he had resuited. _If I fail now... I'm dead! _Grimly, he waited until his Buster was at full charge. Then he fired.

An intense pain ripped through his arm as the fully charged blast left his arm cannon. Mega Man screamed as it felt like his arm had shattered. Then, just as suddenly as the pain had cone, it was gone. He looked in the direction the shot had gone. To his dismay, it had missed all eight Robot Masters and had ploughed into a building instead. _Just my luck..._ he thought grimly. He readied himself to shoot again.

However, his Buster sputtered before dying completely. Mega Man stared at it in shock. "Aw crap." That was the last thing he said before he was struck by something behind him. Too tired to get up anymore, Mega Man crumpled to the ground, welcoming the oncoming blackness.

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Well, that's Chapter 1! This might be the only multi-chapter fic that I actually finish (hopefully). Read and Review! 


	3. Reprogrammed

Here's Chapter 2! Enjoy!

* * *

**April 4, 2026**

Mega Man blinked wearily as he opened his eyes. Everything hurt. His body hurt, his arms hurt, his head hurt, and the straps around his ankles weren't helping him any...

The straps around his ankles?

He tried to jump to his feet, but he was restrained by metal straps that pinned him to a lab table. Panicked, he tried to break free, only to discover that the metal was too difficult to break. Mega Man calmed down and decided to look at his surroundings.

The Skull Fortress he was in looked... old. He could find no other way to describe it. It contained technology that hadn't been used in years. Nearby was a computer, which had plans for something called a Time Skimmer. Mega Man frowned. What was a Time Skimmer? He had never heard of it before. Wondering how long he had been out, Mega Man glanced at the clock set on the computer. Then he eyes widened in pure disbelief.

The time said 8:27 p.m. Nothing unusual about that. However, what he couldn't believe was the date, which appeared to be about thirty years off, as it read April 4, 2026. "Impossible!" he gasped out loud.

That got him thinking. Was it possible... that he had somehow been brought to the past? Is that what Wily had been planning? A small part of Mega Man's mind went working into overtime; if Wily had traveled to his time from the time they were in now, then that explains why the Robot Masters were only up to Robot Rebellion II standards. It also explained Wily's younger and confused appearance at his supposed death. But why had Wily traveled to the future? And why did Wily want him?

Mega Man had no idea whether time-travel caused a paradox in the universe; he certainly didn't remember a device called a Time Skimmer being used. "What am I gonna do...?" he moaned. Presently he heard footsteps approaching him.

Dr. Wily glanced down at Mega Man, an unreadable expression on his face. "Surprised, Mega Man?"

"About what?" the robot asked.

"About why I didn't just kill you?" Wily searched his face.

Mega Man didn't say anything, but was unable to keep the confusion and curiosity off of his face. Wily grinned, an evil grin that made the blue robot give a small shudder.

"You're more useful alive. Pity your past self isn't near strong enough."

A strange icy feeling swept over Mega Man as alarm bells began to go off in his head. "...What do you want from me?"

Wily's grin grew even wider. "I need you to help me destroy your past self and take over the world."

Mega Man's eyes flashed. "No! I won't! I'll never willingly help you!" His lips curled slightly as if to make his point.

Mega Man didn't think it was possible for Wily's twisted grin to grow even wider, but somehow it managed to. "Exactly. 'Willingly' being the key word there." The blue robot felt a strange feeling in his stomach as Wily walked away from the lab table that he was on and went towards one of the nearby computers. He grabbed a cable, hooked one end up to the computer, and then walked back towards Mega Man, holding the other end of the cable. Despite Mega Man's best efforts, he wasn't able to stop the scientist from opening his chest panel and placing the other end of the cable to his main hard drive. His eyes widened slightly. Wily glanced down at him. "Oh, don't worry, you won't feel a thing! This is quite simple really. Now, I need you asleep, as it will make it so much easier..."

Once again, Mega Man struggled desperately to free himself. But he already felt himself growing dizzy and again, he drifted off to sleep...

* * *

In another part of Tokyo, Japan, Mega Man shivered. Despite the fact that he had stopped two of Wily's full-out attempts to takeover the world and one minor attempt, he couldn't help but get the feeling that the evil scientist was plotting something big. Just how big, he didn't know. 

Currently, Mega Man and Dr. Light were on their way to Chronos Institute, where an experimental device had been stolen by Dr. Wily. No one but the Chronos employees knew what the device did, so why Wily wanted it was a mystery. Dr. Light had hoped that by talking to the manager of Chronos Institute they might be able to find out what this experimental device did.

Eventually, the two reached Chronos Institute. The entire premises of the large building were taped off from the chattering crowd standing next to it. The crowd parted as Mega Man and Dr. Light approached the building, where police officers allowed them to enter the premises. After walking inside, the human and the robot met up with Mr. Yakanochi, the head of Chronos Institute, surprising for someone only 26 years old.

"Ah!" the young human smiled as he shook Dr. Light and Mega Man's hands. "I must thank you for dropping by to help us with this dilemma."

"No need for thanks, just doing our duty," Dr. Light responded.

"Actually, we were wondering why Wily would want to steal what he stole anyways," Mega Man supplied. Mr. Yakanochi's smile left his face and he sighed.

"We're not sure how he found out about it, as we have never mentioned to anyone what we were creating. But I hope he never finds out how to use it. If he does, the results could be devastating for not only us, but the entire world!" The young human wrung his hands in worry.

"A new type of weapon?" Mega Man asked. Yakanochi shook his head.

"No. It is a prototype machine that will allow its user to travel through time and space." Mega Man and Dr. Light's eyes widened in pure astonishment.

Dr. Light said, "But if Wily discovers how to use it, he could give himself an edge! If he steals technology from the future, no one on Earth today will be able to stand against it! No offense, Mega Man," he added, as the robot looked a bit put off, "but with the speed technology has been progressing, this is very possible."

"We have one other problem," Yakanochi said. "We have yet to test this machine, as it is only a prototype, and we have no idea of the effects that time travel will have on the world as we know it. It could leave the world completely alone, or it could create a very alternate future, a horrible alternate future." He sighed. "This will be the only Time Skimmer I ever create. I cannot risk this happening again. Mega Man, please destroy the Time Skimmer before it is too late!"

Mega Man nodded, and both he and Dr. Light left Chronos Institute as quickly as they could, heading for home. Mega Man looked worried. "Is this what Dr. Wily has been planning? To use time itself against us?"

"No idea, Rock," Dr. Light said grimly. "Hopefully Dr. Wily won't do anything drastic with this machine, or time as we know it will be changed forever." The two walked on, each deep in their own thoughts. Unfortunately for Dr. Light, his wishes never came true, though he doesn't find that out for quite awhile...

* * *

The end of Chapter 2! I have a tendency to rush things, so if I am, just tell me to slow down, and I'll do my best to. Also, I'm planning on updating this every Sunday, but if I miss it, don't yell at me, please. 


	4. Quint

Finally, the main character and his faithful companion are introduced. Everything else was just leading up to the moment. Enjoy! (Excuse me for getting the diagnostics test wrong. I'm not quite sure how to do it.)

* * *

_I._

_I think._

_I think, therefore I am._

Those were the first words that went through the robot's mind. It had lifted itself out of the blackness and into the world around him. The robot opened a pair of startlingly bright emerald eyes and got a good look at the world before him.

It was in a nondescript room, with computers and wires all over the place. Many of these wires were connected to other machines, and the screens had stuff on them that the robot itself could not understand. It stood up and almost instinctively brushed a lock of brown hair away from its face before jumping down from the table he had been lying down on.

The robot walked over to a piece of reflecting metal and got a good look at himself. He was mostly two shades of green, with a pale green jumpsuit and dark green armor. There were golden bracelets around his ankles and wrists, and the robot got an odd feeling as to why they would be there. But he shrugged it off and picked up a helmet sitting nearby.

The helmet was primarily dark green, with a golden boomerang on the top that matched his bracelets. A blue tinted visor would protect his eyes. The young robot put the helmet on and did a diagnostics on itself.

**Diagnostics test for unit "DRN001 QUINT" have been located. Continue? Y/N**

**>Y**

**Sound is at 100 operating capacity**

**Range of motion is at 100 operating capacity**

**Armor created out of Titanium Alloy with 96 durability.**

**Jumpsuit created out of Zangstic fibers.**

**Helmet is equipped with UV protection visor and comm. device. Protection at 95.**

**Legs equipped with Slide Function.**

**WARNING: Slide Function offline due to incompatibility with current structure. Unable to bring online.**

**Legs equipped with Emergency Acceleration System. Bring online?**

**>Y**

**Arms equipped with Mega-Buster Mark 13.**

**WARNING: Mega-Buster offline due to severe damage. Unable to bring online.**

**Memory Core OS has 156,838,284 tera bytes of free memory space left.**

**WARNING: Memory Core OS is damaged. Several files have been corrupted. Save corrupted files? Y/N**

**>Y**

**Save to where? Backup/Main**

** Backup**

**Memory files have been saved in backup. Continue diagnostics? Y/N**

**>N**

_Memory Core OS is corrupted? Is that why I cannot remember anything?_ The robot thought to itself. It had learned some valuable information from his diagnostics, such as his name, what he was created of, and the "Mega Buster," whatever that was. For now, however, he should find out where he is and what he should do. He will finish the rest of his diagnostic test later.

Quint, as the robot decided to call itself, slowly stood up from where he had been kneeling and shakily placed a hand to his head. Everything was so confusing. He was in a place he recognized and at the same did not recognize. He turned towards a piece of reflective metal, taking his helmet off. The person in his reflection looked familiar yet strange. Quint put the helmet back on.

"Ah, I see you have woken up," a voice said from behind him. Quint whirled around, instinctively holding up his left arm as if expecting it to morph into something else. It didn't. Quint, slightly embarrassed, put his arm down and regarded the newcomer.

It was an elderly human, who was wearing a white lab coat and had wild gray hair. Alarm bells rang in Quint's head as his subconscious screamed a warning at him, but Quint took no notice of it. He gazed at the human. "Who are you?"

The human looked surprised and mildly pleased. "You do not know your creator?"

Frowning, Quint thought. Then he shook his head. "No."

The human almost looked... gleeful. "Then remember this. I am Dr. Albert W. Wily, your creator. I assume you know your designation and what you have been created to do."

"My designation is Quint. However, there is nothing to tell me what I have been created to do," the robot said in an almost monotone voice.

Wily frowned at him. "Your designation is to destroy an enemy robot. Its designation is Mega Man Light." The scientist studied his face closely, looking for any signs of recognition or realization, and was relieved when he saw none.

Quint nodded in affirmation, even though he was still very confused as to why he should destroy this robot that Wily had mentioned. "Acknowledged."

Wily smiled an evil smile. "Good. I will call you when I need you." He turned and left the room.

The moment Wily left the room, Quint sank down onto the floor and clutched his head in his hands. "W-Why can't I remember anything...? Who am I? Why don't I like Wily? And why does the name Mega Man sound so familiar?" Shaking slightly, Quint took one last look at his reflection and fled out of the room.

* * *

Quint walked through the hallways, completely ignoring the mechaniloids running around the fortress trying to complete various tasks they had been assigned. For the first few hours of his short life, he was just walked around and watched the Robot Masters (which his mind automatically identified, strangely enough) chat with each other in a familiar, friendly manner, and the little mechaniloids work cooperatively with each other. For the first time, he felt very lonely. 

"Saku! Saku!" a voice called. Quint's head snapped up. He looked around, wondering what that had been. He noticed that everyone else that he could see ignored the voice. "Saku!" the voice called again. Yet again everyone ignored the voice. Quint stood up, starting to walk in the direction that the voice had come from.

"Sakugarne!" the voice called yet again. Quint broke off into a small jog, running towards the voice. "Sakugarne!" Louder this time, the voice drew Quint into a secluded part of Skull Fortress. Finally, Quint rounded a corner to a dead end and stopped.

The first thing he noticed was that this part of Skull Fortress was only partially built, with lots of construction material all over the place. The second thing he noticed was that there was a pile of metal and wood, and coming from this pile was the voice, "Saku! Sakugarne!"

Quint frowned, dashed towards the pile, and began lifting the stuff off. The voice continued calling, "Saku!"

"Hang on!" Quint replied. "I'll get you out!" Presently, he uncovered a small red mechaniloid that looked a lot like a pogo-stick with eyes and a mouth. He pulled the mechaniloid out of the pile and stood it up.

It was slightly battered, but it looked okay. The pogo-stick beamed at him. "Sakugarne!" it chirped in a happy voice. It bounced around Quint, chirping happily.

"Hey, hey!" Quint protested, embarrassed. "It was nothing!" Secretly, though, he felt good, as if he had made a difference. He smiled and patted the pogo-stick, his bouts of loneliness beginning to fade as he observed the happy robot.

"Saku!" it said. "Saku!" It moved closer to him.

"You want to stay with me, don't you?" Quint asked, still smiling as he continued patting the pogo-stick.

"Saku!" it said with an obvious tone of agreement. Quint's smile grew larger.

"Well, if you want to stay with me, you need a name. I'll call you Sakugarne!" Quint began to walk away, the newly-christened Sakugarne following him loyally. _Maybe... just maybe I won't be alone after all!_

"Saku!" said Sakugarne.

* * *

I'm finding his meeting with Sakugarne to be a bit strange, but... shrugs Read and review! 


	5. Sakugarne

Chapter 4 is up! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! (Velgma, chaoticbenevolence, Archaon, and ColonelPhantom)

Also: I am keeping track of times when the story bounces from one time period to another. It won't happen very often as the story progresses, mind you, since it becomes more obvious which universe they are currently in.

* * *

Quint spent the rest of the week with the little mechaniloid he named Sakugarne. He had found schematics for the little robot on a computer in Dr. Wily's lab (which he had snuck into and accessed without permission from the scientist himself).

According to the schematics, Sakugarne was meant to be a device that could lift people (or robots) to higher heights that they cannot reach by having the pogo-stick bounce. Quint just shook his head at the thought of Sakugarne-type robots bouncing up and down all day. Not for the first time, he thought that Wily must have a screw loose.

So Quint began his own modifications to Sakugarne. The little robot needed some sort of self-defense, and Quint didn't want his only friend to be destroyed. So he placed the schematics on the ground, shut off Sakugarne, and added some things.

"Hmm, what do you need...?" he muttered to himself. He changed the typical pogo-stick like base of Sakugarne to a sharp, pointy, drill-shaped base. He made it so that it could penetrate the ground if done hard enough, but not on regular walking / bouncing.

Also, he removed the metal casing of Sakugarne and replaced it an unbreakable Titanium X alloy that Wily had also gotten from somewhere. When Quint had asked, Wily had snapped at him to go do something else and mind his own business, which had confused the poor robot even further. The Titanium X alloy also blocked plasma shots. Too bad that Quint couldn't use the modification on himself, since he somehow subconsciously knew that Mega Man used plasma to attack.

He whistled a random tune while he worked. After awhile, he stopped back and admired his own handiwork. He was hit with a sudden realization that he was able to use all those tools and materials without any training whatsoever, and it frightened him slightly. He shrugged the thought off and put away the tools and spare materials he had used. Then he reactivated Sakugarne.

"Saku?" the pogo-stick asked. It bounced around a bit, testing its new base. "Saku!" It bounced around happily.

"Glad you like it," Quint said, smiling and patting the pogo-stick.

"What was that?" a voice came from outside. Quint nearly facefaulted as he remembered that he had opened one of the storerooms to E-Tanks and modified Sakugarne there. He also recalled that he had never asked permission to modify the robot. The door to the storeroom opened and a certain somebody with a lab coat and wild gray hair walked in.

"Quint?" Wily asked, looking at him with a slight frown on his face. "Why are you in here with that mechaniloid?"

"Saku?" said the mechaniloid.

"I... uh..." Quint shifted from one foot to the other, aware of Wily glaring at him. "I... wanted to keep him..."

For a few minutes both human and robot stared at each other. Sakugarne kept glancing from one to the other, confused as to what was going on. Finally, it couldn't handle the silence anymore. "Saku?" it said in a tentative voice.

That appeared to snap both of them out of it. "Well, no Robot Master has been allowed a companion, and I don't plan to start it anytime soon." Quint's face dropped as Wily said this. Was he being forced to give Sakugarne up? "However... you aren't exactly a Robot Master. I will allow you to keep that mechaniloid on one condition: you are fully responsible for it. Don't come wailing to me if it's broken. Understand?"

"Perfectly," Quint said, fighting to keep his voice neutral. Inside, he felt like doing a victory dance.

"Good," Wily said. He started to walk out. When he reached the door, he paused and glanced back at him. "But if you get one rebellious thought you and it are scrap."

All that statement did was puzzle Quint. "Now why the heck would I rebel against Dr. Wily?" he muttered, not realizing the irony in his words. Then he shrugged. "Oh well."

* * *

**September 25, 2057**

Dr. Light was frantic. It had been a week since Wily and his robots had simply disappeared from Tokyo. Even more disturbing was that Mega Man had disappeared with them. After trying for awhile to locate the little blue robot, he gave up.

Not knowing what he was going to do, he had Roll bring him another cup of coffee to help keep him awake incase Mega Man returned and needed repairs. The female robot protested against Dr. Light staying up late.

"You are an old man, Father, not nearly as fit as you were thirty years ago," she protested as she brought him the cup of strong black coffee. "You need your rest. Allow me to watch for Mega Man. I will be able to help him just fine."

Dr. Light smiled tiredly at her and took the coffee, but refused to get up from the chair. "No Roll. While I don't doubt that you are capable, I would rather stay up and watch for Mega Man myself."

Roll walked back to the living room, sighing; was there no convincing him? She sat down on the couch and placed her head in her hands. Just then, a five-note whistle split the air. She looked up as another robot teleported in. "Proto Man!" she gasped.

Indeed, the first intelligent robot ever created, Proto Man, had decided to show up for the first time in months. However, Roll clearly knew that this was no social call. Proto Man's mouth was a thin line, the only sign that he knew that something was terribly wrong.

"I heard that little bro went missing," he said, sitting down next to Roll. The girl sat there, no longer wondering how her oldest brother knew these things. How he knew this time was fairly obvious; most of the population that had fled Tokyo swore they saw a flash of strange rainbow light before Wily appeared and right before Wily (and Mega Man) had disappeared.

"There was something odd, though," Roll sighed. "He was using technology from over thirty years ago. And it seems suspicious that he didn't destroy anything until Mega Man went there. It was almost as if he had a trap laid out for him..." It was taking all her self-control to not break down in tears.

Proto Man sat there silently, listening to his sister. Finally, he stood up. "Is Father in the lab or sleeping?"

"In the lab," Roll said, frowning. "No matter what I say, he won't go to sleep and allow me to keep watch."

"He's just worried," Proto Man said, starting to walk towards the direction of the lab. Roll got up and followed him. When they walked in, both robots noticed Dr. Light slumped in his chair, an exhausted expression on his face and the coffee cup in his left hand. He took a sip of the coffee and placed the cup down.

"Where could he be...?" Dr. Light moaned. "He has to be somewhere!"

"So what are we going to do, wait until some sign of Mega Man shows up?" Roll said, her expression downtrodden.

"Nothing more we can do," Proto Man said grimly. "All we can do is hope that the public catches sight of him one day and act upon that."

* * *

The poor Light family! Anyways, this is the end of Chapter 4. Stay tuned for Chapter 5! 


	6. Time Travel 101

Okay, I'm not going to keep track of times and dates anymore. It's easy enough to tell which one it is by what is going on.

Special thanks to those who reviewed! You guys rock.

Also, this is going to be the last chapter I do for at least six weeks, since I'm off to India this Wednesday. So I'll update when I come back!

* * *

Dr. Light finally went to bed after Proto Man literally dragged him out of his chair and promised that he or Roll would wake the scientist if they received any news on Mega Man. Now both robots were currently sitting at the communications system, waiting, hoping, for something. However, no luck. Daylight came and Dr. Light rejoined them at the communications system. 

The three sat there and were just about to give up when a screen flashed a message that Dr. Light had an incoming transmission. "What if it's Mega Man!" Roll gasped. Proto Man didn't say anything, but he too was hoping that Roll was right. Dr. Light activated the comm. system.

A man of about 57 appeared on the screen. He had a slightly square face with brown eyes and streaks of silver in his black hair. He was wearing a typical business suit with a stylized "C" pin attached to his left breast pocket. "Is this the laboratory of Dr. Light?"

All three occupants nodded. "I am Dr. Light. Might I ask who you are?"

"I am Mr. Yakanochi, head of Chronos Institute," he said. Then he paused. "I don't believe we have met before."

"No we haven't," Dr. Light agreed. "Might I ask the nature of your call?"

"It's about Mega Man and Dr. Wily," the middle-aged man said, "and the light that occurred right before their disappearance. Now, I'm afraid that what I believe happened might sound strange and unbelievable, but here it is.

"Thirty years ago, we began planning a prototype machine called "Time Skimmer." The Time Skimmer, as its name suggested, is able to travel through time. However, out of fear of what might happen if the wrong people got a hold of it, we kept the Time Skimmer hidden. For awhile, we were afraid that Dr. Wily might try to steal the Time Skimmer, but luckily he never attacked. We tested the Time Skimmer by traveling one hour into the future. What was significant was that the Time Skimmer would make a bright flash of rainbow light before it did anything."

"Rainbow light?" Roll and Proto Man echoed. That sounded very familiar...

Mr. Yakanochi nodded sadly. "I fear that a universe parallel to ours chose a different path. In this path, Dr. Wily stole the Time Skimmer, used it, and now made off with this world's Mega Man."

Dr. Light stared at him, unsure of whether to believe him. "Thank you, Mr. Yakanochi." The comm. screen fuzzed out. He turned to Proto Man and Roll. "What do you two think about this?"

"I believe him, Dr. Light," Proto Man said. "There's no other explanation. Wily's dead, after all."

"We don't know for sure," Dr. Light protested. "We only found some blood in his collapsed fortress."

Proto Man sighed. "He pulled himself out of Skull Fortress, but died before any of his robots found him. I saw his body myself, Dr. Light. It was clearly a human body. Mr. Yakanochi, no matter how ludicrous his story may sound, was telling the truth."

"So that means... Mega Man is out of our reach forever?" Roll whispered.

"Possibly. It's uncertain whether he would be able to use the Time Skimmer to come back to this time or whether he will be transported back to the future of that timeline instead. Either way though, he'll have to avoid Wily and steal the Time Skimmer from him. And stealing stuff from Wily is dangerous. That I know. But there is hope," Proto Man said.

"So how are we going to break the news to Dr. Cossack and Kalinka? And Duo, if he ever comes back?" Roll asked. Dr. Light sighed.

"We'll tell them when the time comes. For now, let's just concentrate on making sure that the Wily bots no longer cause any trouble and simply hope that Mega Man comes back home on his own," Dr. Light said, taking this strangely calmly for a man that had just lost his son.

* * *

"Sakugarne! Sakugarne!" the modified pogo-stick shouted happily. He nuzzled up affectionately against Quint, who giggled. 

Quint was sitting inside a small room with white walls. A single yellow light bulb hung on the ceiling to provide a dim light. The contents of the room were scarce; the only thing inside it besides the two robots was bed with a moth-eaten mattress, a worn-out desk with a matching chair, and one worn-out chest to store items in.

Wily had allowed Quint to take a robot first-aid kit on the occasion that he or Sakugarne got damaged. "That is all the assistance that I am giving you," he had told the robot. "So don't lose that kit!"

The first-aid kit was now sitting inside the chest, hidden from the outside world. Quint smiled, patted Sakugarne, and lay down. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sakugarne place itself in standby to get some rest and then sighed.

Not for the first time he began to ponder his existence. It still seemed a mystery to him. Occasionally, he would start to get visions of places that he had never seen before and people that he had never met, yet his subconscious seemed to know them. One of his most vivid visions involved an old man with a white beard, who had a kind smile. Quint wondered who he was. The man appeared to be a stranger, but for some reason Quint felt at ease around him.

Other times, he would see a red and gray robot with a bright yellow cloth around his neck wearing a visor, or a girl with large blue eyes and bright blond hair. There are other people he would see, but he didn't see them as often.

"So... what could those visions mean?" he muttered to himself. "And why do I get the feeling that something is not right about Wily?"

Wily had mentioned that he was a robot created by him. Quint's programming told him this information, and all logic told him that he was, indeed, a Wily bot. However, his "heart" refused to acknowledge this fact and kept telling him that it was someone else, that there was another, caring person that was responsible for his existence.

Quint decided he would continue pondering about his existence later and eventually he went to sleep, his dreams filled with plasma shots and evil, psychotic laughter...

* * *

"So what do you think?" Mega Man asked his older brother Proto Man. Proto Man had finally dropped by for a brief visit, and the younger robot was curious as to what his brother thought about Wily and the stolen Time Skimmer. 

"Time Skimmer... Besides what you have told me, all I know is that it should not be in the hands of evil. Especially Wily. And I'm betting that he's gone and messed up time with it," Proto Man replied. "Who knows, there might even be another you running around right now."

Mega Man shivered inwardly. For some reason, that last statement gave him a very uneasy feeling. "But wouldn't that cause a time paradox in the universe? I thought two mes couldn't exist at the same time."

"That's just theory," the older robot said. "No one knows for sure what happens when you do time travel."

"I've read a couple of other theories about time travel before, in science fiction novels. How many theories are there?" Mega Man asked.

"Lots, and a few of them are more well known than others. Here's a few of the more common theories.

"Theory Number 1: Nothing changes in time travel. Anything that a time traveler does will not affect the universe in any way, because it had already been done. For example, a time traveler goes back in time to save their father or mother from an incident that would otherwise kill them, therefore allowing their existence. This is what most people hope for in time travel, as their lives will not be affected in any way.

"Theory Number 2: Drastic changes occur. What the time traveler does may, in fact, destroy the future that they were in and cause an alternate future. Sometimes this might be good, and other times this might be bad. For example, the time traveler goes back in time and accidentally ends up killing his younger self, thereby altering the future. There's no way they would be able to go back in time if they don't exist anymore, therefore it would be impossible to go back in time and kill your younger self, and this goes on in a continuous loop... a time paradox, if you will."

"Theory Number 3: Two entities of the same being could not exist at the same time. As in, since a person already exists, another version of them is unable to exist. Therefore, the one attempting time travel would not be able to do time travel, or the time traveler would suddenly pop out of existence when there is no way his future would take place.

"Theory Number 4: When a person time travels to the future, they don't travel through time. Instead, they end up in a sort of limbo that transports them to, say, thirty years in the future in less than ten seconds. However, outside the limbo, thirty years would have actually gone by and the time traveler, for all purposes, 'disappears' for those thirty years until he arrives. This can be reversed by simply going back where the time traveler came from."

"That sounds weird," Mega Man commented. "Anymore theories, or are those four the only ones?" Neither of the robots noticed Dr. Light or Roll silently watching and listening them.

"One more, kid," Proto Man continued. "Theory Number 5: A person doesn't time travel at all. At least, not in his own universe. For all we know, multiple parallel universes are running alongside us. However, they may run at a different pace. For example, it could be December 27, 2076 in our universe, December 27, 2046 in another universe, and December 27, 2106 in yet another universe. Therefore, when a person time travels, they don't time travel at all. They merely jump to another universe that is running at a different pace. By doing things there, they influence that other universe, but not their own universe."

"Whoa," Mega Man whispered. It was almost too much to take in, but he was amazed at the complexity of time travel. "I wonder if I would ever get the chance to time travel and find out what really happens?"

Proto Man gave him one of his mysterious half-smiles. "Who knows, kid, you might have already."

* * *

No, Proto Man doesn't know about Quint at all. He's just being his mysterious self again. As for Theory Number 5, I saw that in another Mega Man fanfic and thought it was ingenious. I forgot whose fanfic it was, so I apologize. Theory Number 4 was taken from the Ruby-Spears Mega Man cartoon. 


	7. Realization

I'm back! And suffering from jet lag, unfortunately. However, I'm still putting this chapter up anyways, just for you guys. But I won't be writing anything new until I recover.

**Chaoticbenevolence**: I just reread your fic, and it was yours that I got Time Travel Theory Number 5 from! Sorry about that. You don't mind me using it, do you?

* * *

A door opened in the living quarters of the fortress with a small creaking sound, and a head poked out of it, looking around nervously. Satisfied, the head went back inside the room, completely opened the door, and stepped out. He looked around once again, and then shut the door quietly. He didn't bother to lock it. After glancing around yet again, the person took off down the hallway towards the main laboratory as fast and silently as he could. 

Quint ducked behind a corner when he heard the noise of footsteps. Seconds later, he saw a small group of Mettool robots and Sniper Joes parading down the hallway, making sure that all things were safe. Sighing softly with relief, he snuck behind the Sniper Joes and Mettools and ran the other way. The green robot once again hid himself behind a pillar as he heard something behind him. However, the moment he stopped, the noise behind him stopped. Quint looked behind him. He couldn't see anything. Believing that it was just his nerves, he shook his head and continued to run down the hallway.

Quint actually had almost no idea where he was going, having not memorized the path around Skull Fortress yet. However, he seemed pretty sure that eventually he would find it. He could barely hear his metal boots hitting the floor, and was thankful that there was soft carpeting on the floors.

Finally, he found himself outside a door that said "Dr. Wily's Private Laboratory. All robots, keep out!" Quint was about to reach out and open the door when he suddenly felt something poke him on his back, causing him to jump a foot in the air.

"Gah!" he yelped rather loudly, surprised. His voice echoed against the walls of the fortress. Then he clapped his hands on his mouth and turned to face whatever had poked him.

"Saku?" a small, tentative voice said. It was Sakugarne, who was looking at his master very curiously. The pogo stick had woken up and seen Quint looking out the door, so after Quint left, Sakugarne took advantage of the door's automatic opening feature and followed his master out of the room.

Quint breathed heavily, hand over his mechanical 'heart' as he waited for it to stop pounding. "Sakugarne!" he whispered. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" Then he gazed at the little pogo stick, thinking. "Alright, you can come with me. But stay quiet!" Sakugarne made a small bounce in affirmation.

Reaching out, Quint took the handle of the door and quietly opened the door to Dr. Wily's private lab. Surprisingly, no alarm sounded as the two robots went in. "He's not careless, from what I know," Quint murmured to himself as he closed the door. Sakugarne glanced around the laboratory, interested. "Though he needs a little more security. So, if there's any extra information on me, it will be well-hidden. Now, where would Dr. Wily hide all of his private matters?"

The robot looked around, his gaze stopping at a computer. There was some sort of a screensaver on it that showed a three-dimensional skull floating around in a void of blackness. He saw a keyboard and mouse attached to the computer. He placed his hand on the mouse and shook it in order to get the screensaver off.

Moving the mouse around, he clicked on an icon that said, 'My Computer (of Evil)' and saw several different labels of icons. All of them were shaped like hard drives. The hard drives were labeled 'Robot Masters,' 'Do-Gooders,' 'Mechaniloids,' and 'Other Robots.' Quint didn't know which one to click, but after awhile, he clicked on 'Other Robots.' Inside this hard drive were several folders, each one being a robot's name. Near the end of the list of folders was one labeled 'Quint.' Heart hammering, Quint double-clicked on the file labeled with his name on it.

Another window popped up, this one containing textual information. Quint read through the information that the file told him. Most of it he already knew, such as his height, weight, support unit, and several others. What really interested him was the 'History' section. The 'History' section was much longer than it should have been for a day old robot.

"Stole Time Skimmer from Chronos Institute," Quint read out loud, but softly enough that Sakugarne did not hear him. "Used Time Skimmer to jump 30 years into the future. Captured Mega Man and brought him back. Wiped his memory and remodeled him into Quint. Made sure he wouldn't remember anything." He slumped back in the chair, mind reeling.

_Wily told me to kill this person named 'Mega Man,' but I'm technically a futuristic version of him! So wouldn't I be killing myself? And why does Wily hate Mega Man so much, anyways? _he thought to himself. "Well, there's only one way to find out!" He exited the file on him and went back to the place with the hard drive icons. He clicked on the 'Do-Gooders' section and saw several files. He moused-over several of them until he found one labeled 'Mega Man.' He double-clicked this file.

For several heart-stopping minutes he read over the file that was supposedly about 'himself.' Sakugarne glanced over his master's shoulder every once in awhile to see what was so interesting. However, the pogo-stick couldn't read, so it eventually grew bored and bounced off to look at the rest of the laboratory. Then he stopped when he heard he master make a strange noise.

"Saku?" it asked Quint, concerned. Quint stood up, exited all of the windows on the computer, and let out a soft sob. He reached out and hugged the pogo-stick tightly.

"Oh Sakugarne..." he whispered. "I'm not who we think I am!" He continued to hug the pogo stick. Sakugarne didn't exactly understand what the green robot meant, but it had obviously upset him and he tried to offer comfort.

"Saku..." it whispered in a comforting tone. For awhile, the two just stood there, hugging each other. Then Quint stepped back and checked his internal chronometer for the time. After all, he didn't want Wily to catch him in his private laboratory!

"4:46 AM? Uh oh, we'd better split!" he whispered to Sakugarne. Quickly, the two exited the lab and dashed back to Quint's room. Quint breathed a sigh of relief once they were safely back inside his room. "That was close... it wouldn't have been good for Wily to catch us... especially if he found out WHY I had gone there..."

"Sakugarne?" Sakugarne asked, curious as to what Quint was talking about. Quint sighed.

"Well, you're the only one I really know," he told the mechaniloid. "Do you promise not to tell anybody?"

"Saku!" it nodded in affirmation. Quint sighed again.

"Okay then, here's what I found out..."

* * *

Proto Man had left Dr. Light's laboratory late at night after explaining to his little brother about time travel. He had talked to him, in order to make sure that Mega Man knew about the several theories of time travel and didn't exactly mess time up once he had recovered the Time Skimmer. The red robot didn't exactly know what to do, although he would never admit it; time travel was a very confusing subject, and even he, Proto Man, got confused. 

He wondered whether he should try to sneak into Skull Fortress, like he had several times before. Maybe he himself would be able to recover the Time Skimmer. Then he snorted. How would he be able to recover the Time Skimmer? Wily probably had the thing well-guarded. And who knows how he's messed up time with it. However, either way, he at least decided to break in and see whether he could at least get any information from skulking around. So, employing his stealth skills, Proto Man approached Skull Fortress.

He glanced around, making sure that he wouldn't accidentally step into any traps. He walked towards the entrance. Noticing the Sniper Joe patrol, he ducked behind a boulder as the green robot looked around for any trouble makers. The Sniper Joe turned back around once it was satisfied, and that was when Proto Man struck. With one charge shot, he shorted out the Sniper Joe. The red robot reached out, grabbed the Sniper Joe, and threw it behind the boulder after making sure it couldn't recover. Then he dashed through the entrance that the Sniper Joe had been guarding.

Proto Man was surprised when nothing else attacked him. "Maybe Wily's defense system isn't online?" he murmured to himself. As much as he would have loved to cause some damage and annoy Wily at the same time, it wouldn't work since Skull Fortress was a maze and he had no idea where to start. The defense system would always be on a direct path to the laboratory, but since it wasn't online, Proto Man would have to make do with information gathering.

He made his way through the Skull Fortress, hiding whenever he saw a robot. He was skilled at this; after all, he had before broken into Wily's fortress, rescued Kalinka Cossack, and had gotten them both out alive without any major problems. Alone, it should be easier for him. He stopped when he heard a small voice behind a closed door.

"Do you promise not to tell anybody?" the voice asked. It sounded vaguely familiar. Proto Man wracked his mind to put a name to the voice, but it didn't come to him.

"Saku!" another voice said. Proto Man didn't know what 'Saku' meant, but obviously the other person did.

Proto Man was curious; he had no qualms about eavesdropping, having had to eavesdrop on other people his entire life, so he hid himself in the shadows near the door and listened to the strange robot (who was apparently named 'Quint') as it explained everything to the other. Now, the information startled the red robot slightly. One: this guy was claiming to have been brought by the Time Skimmer. Two: 'Quint' wasn't really his real name. Three: He was Mega Man from the future.

But there was something strange about him... he didn't act as childish or naïve as the Mega Man he knew... then again, he was from the future. Maybe he had grown up, somehow. Either way, Proto Man was even more determined to make sure that Mega Man didn't accidentally destroy the Time Skimmer when he recovered it.

* * *

I know Quint acts a little strange in this chapter, but really, how would YOU feel if you found out what he did? Anyways, I'd love to see what you thought of this! 


	8. Plans

**Veglma**: I know Quint found out a little early, but the sooner he knows, the sooner fun stuff happens. XD And Mega's not finding out anytime soon, I can promise that. Someone else did, though. And he's not talking.

**Rising Dragon: **Thanks!

This chappie seems really awkward and forced to me, but hopefully they don't act too out of character.

* * *

"You might want to be careful where and when you talk, Quint," Proto Man said out loud, smirking slightly to himself. "You never know just who might be listening." There was a shout of surprise, and the door slid open, revealing Quint's startled face. His helmet was off, revealing to the world his true face. "Relax, I'm no Wily robot."

"Then WHO exactly are you," the young robot asked, gazing at the taller robot suspiciously. He thought he recognized him, but he wasn't sure.

"If you truly read through Wily's files, then you should know. Hint: I'm someone's brother."

Quint hesitated. "...Proto Man?"

"We have a winner." The red robot slid smoothly into Quint's room and shut the door. He gazed around it slightly, taking in the small mechaniloid staring at him curiously. It looked like a pogo-stick, strangely enough.

"But..." Quint stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you really need to know?" Proto Man said wryly. Quint sighed. He had a feeling he won't get any answers from the other unless the other chose to give them to him.

"I doubt you came into my room to just tell me you existed and then run off," Quint said. "I may only have a day's worth of memories, but I'm not stupid."

"Got me," Proto Man grinned, almost... _happy_ at the thought that someone had outsmarted him. "I'm looking for the Time Skimmer."

"You're not going have much luck. Wily's locked the thing away somewhere and we have no idea where it is. We, as in me and Sakugarne over there," he added, pointing to the pogo-stick.

Proto Man walked over and sat down on the bed next to Quint. The green robot shifted slightly, a little uncomfortable. He looked up and noticed Proto Man starting at him. "...What?"

"You look just like Mega Man. Except for the hair and eye color, you two could be twins."

"I am technically his twin."

"Touché."

"Saku!" Sakugarne called out, stopping the off-topic conversation.

"Thanks," Quint muttered to the pogo-stick. "So, what are you going to do about the Time Skimmer?" he asked Proto Man.

"Nothing."

Quint nearly fell off of the bed. "What! You're gonna leave it in Wily's hands!"

"No."

"...I'm not sure I'm following you here..." Quint said, looking nervous.

"Simple. _You_ are going to recover the Time Skimmer."

"_What!_" Quint jumped up from the bed and stared at the other robot. "Are you kidding? He'll kill me if he finds out!"

"Which is why you make sure he doesn't find out." Quint didn't look convinced. "Think of it this way. If you manage to get the Time Skimmer, you can probably use it to go back to whatever time period you came from, and we won't have to deal with it in our time. It's a win-win situation."

"That's... true..." Quint murmured, thinking to himself. _If I get the Time Skimmer, I can go home! ...Well, I need to find my memories first. But nabbing the Time Skimmer is a start!_ "I'll do it."

"I'm glad we agree on this, _Mega Man_."

Quint stared at him. "...Eh?"

"Mega Man. You need to stop thinking of yourself as Quint. Of course, if someone calls you Quint, make sure you respond. Especially if it's Wily doing the calling. But if you really want to find out more about yourself, I suggest you get a hold of a few history files and try to jog your memory."

"I did," Quint said softly. "I read all about Mega – me. But nothing jogged my memory."

"..." Proto Man gazed at him. "Well, then I guess you're just gonna have to keep trying, huh?"

And then, just like that, he was gone.

Quint stared at where the red robot had been, before glancing at Sakugarne. "What a strange person..." he murmured.

"Saku," agreed Sakugarne.

* * *

For the next several weeks, Quint stealthily tried to find out where Wily was keeping the Time Skimmer. None of the other Robot Masters paid any attention to him, but Quint didn't dare try to ask them, fearing that they would tell Wily. Sakugarne often went spying, as the mechaniloid still resembled his fellows greatly. The others would talk freely around him, not realizing that Sakugarne was able to understand what they were saying. Not only that, but Quint understood Sakugarne perfectly.

"Saku..." Sakugarne muttered, watching the other pogo-stick robots bouncing around the fortress. True, they were his species, but it had never been able to communicate with them. They didn't seem to have the mental capacity that he did. It frustrated the little pogo-stick, but there was absolutely nothing that it could do about it. But why was it different from its fellows? Had it accidentally been blessed with the mental capacity of a Robot Master?

"What was that machine the doctor was talking about? The Time Skimmer?" a voice asked. It sounded like Metal Man.

"Yeah, that's what it was called," said Crash Man. Sakugarne perked its auditory sensors up. Maybe it would finally hear information on the machine his master wanted? "Funny device," Crash Man continued. "Apparently, it has the ability to open portals through time."

"Time travel? Isn't this getting a little too elaborate? I mean, he's having us build a frickin' space station in space..." Metal Man complained.

"Well, whatever he wanted to do with the Time Skimmer worked, apparently, because he was talking about how it made all his dreams come true."

"He used it to kill Mega Man?"

"...I guess. I think he's keeping the thing in Laboratory 6B, or something..." Crash Man muttered. The instant he said that, Sakugarne felt like doing a little hop of victory. It had gotten it! It had gotten what his master wanted!

Sakugarne hopped back to Quint's room and peeked inside. Quint wasn't in, so Sakugarne hopped next to the bed and waited... and waited... and waited... Finally, after a couple of hours, Quint came inside.

"Hello, Sakugarne," he smiled. "Damn, I'm tired..."

"Saku!" Sakugarne called out.

"...Say that again..." Quint said, slowly.

"Saku! Saku! Sakuga!" the pogo-stick said excitedly. For a few minutes, Quint just sat there, staring at him. Then his mouth curled into a smile.

"You found it!" he gasped, hugging the pogo-stick. "You're brilliant! Where is it?"

"Sakugarne!"

"Laboratory 6B?" Quint said. "Hmm, I know where that is... Now we just need to find a time to steal it... this won't be easy..."

"All Robot Masters to Laboratory 5C!" Wily's voice suddenly came over the intercom. Quint jumped in surprise.

"What could he want now?" he asked.

"Saku?" suggested Sakugarne.

"..." Quint stared at him. "Maybe..."

Quint and Sakugarne walked out of the room and followed the groups of robots heading towards Lab 5-C. As they walked / hopped, Quint thought about some things. Today had been a major breakthrough, learning the location of the Time Skimmer and all. But it had to get stolen without Wily realizing what he and Sakugarne were up to... _But_, thought Quint, _I really need to get it back. If those history files were telling the truth – and I doubt they were not – then I'm living a lie._

After awhile, the robots reached the lab, Quint amongst them. Wily, who was standing on a podium, had already begun talking about his master plan. Apparently it involved starting his so-called 'master plan' to take over the world again. _Hmm, so Sakugarne was right. Wily wants to try again. Aw, I'm never gonna be able to get it back if he's watching our every move –_

"Quint!" a voice snapped into his thoughts. Startled, the green robot looked up.

Everyone was looking at him, Wily included. "Get up here!" Blinking, Quint slowly walked through the crowd of robots – who were watching him curiously – and climbed onto the podium beside Wily. "This is Quint. He shall be the one to take down Mega Man if all of you fail. I have no doubts that he can do it." Everyone watched quietly.

"He shall be guarding the pathway to my private laboratory, in the Lab 6 hallway," Wily said. "Get down. And bring that mechaniloid to battle."

Quint climbed off of the podium and went back to where Sakugarne was standing silently. "Saku..." it murmured quietly. Quint placed one hand in the spot between Sakugarne's handlebars. Wily had begun speaking again, but Quint was no longer listening.

_I'm supposed to guard the Lab 6 hallway... which is near the location of the Time Skimmer. Wily doesn't know that I know, or he wouldn't have assigned me there... what a stroke of luck!_ Quint thought. _Now, all I have to do is find out how Sakugarne and I are going to escape our fight with Mega Man and steal the Time Skimmer..._

Quint was more worried about Sakugarne's safety than his own. He wasn't going to leave the mechaniloid at the mercy of Wily once he found the Time Skimmer. The mechaniloid didn't belong where he came from, but he didn't care at the moment.

_How am I going to get the Time Skimmer?_ Quint knew that he was running out of time...

* * *

And there's the next chapter! I'll be back to update it in a week or so, so stay tuned! 


	9. Epilogue

Here's the epilogue!

* * *

Quint glanced out of the window of the fortress, staring at the starry sky outside. He glanced down and gazed at the blue, white, and green ball identified as Earth. He glanced at Sakugarne who was standing next to him.

"Well, Wily launched the fortress. Four of the Robot Masters are down there, and the rest of us are up here. Mega Man has to get rid of them down there, then the four Robot Masters still up here, before facing me. And then..." Quint paused, thinking. "And then we act."

"It's gonna be strange, facing Mega Man. But it has to be done. There's nothing else we can do. We need that Time Skimmer. We can't let Mega Man kill us, but we can't kill him either. Do you know what to do, Sakugarne?" Quint asked.

"Saku!" Sakugarne said in affirmation. Quint smiled.

"Right. Now, all we can do is wait for Wily to command the Robot Masters down there to attack."

"Sakugarne?" Sakugarne asked.

"Why do we need to wait for Mega Man to arrive?" Quint translated, looking at the pogo-stick. "We need his help, willing or unwilling. There's no way we'll be able to pull it off if he never arrives. But don't worry," Quint said, gazing back out the window at the planet. "If I survived all those years as him, I'm sure he'll survive to make it to me."

Quint began to walk away from the window, with Sakugarne following him. Quint walked straight into Lab 6B and glanced around. There was absolutely nothing inside the room, except for one metal safe with a eight-number combination luck; the numbers ranged from 0 through 9. Quint had worked out in his mind several possible combos, but who knew how Wily thought? He would have to rely on pure luck in order to guess the combination.

He glanced at the lock. "It's somewhere in there," Quint murmured. "And once I know the combo, I'll get it. But what could it be...?" He stood there, pondering on the combination for several seconds.

He sat down, and Sakugarne hopped over to him. "Saku?" it asked.

"I don't know," Quint replied, still gazing at the lock. "My entire future depends on me discovering four little numbers. How am I going to figure out the combination?"

At that moment, alarms began to sound. Quint jumped out of the room, and with a quick glance at the monitors, he saw what happened: Wily had finally announced his threat to the world, and was now asking Mega Man to just come and attack the Robot Masters on Earth. As Quint watched the video footage coming from Earth, the robot armies began attacking the civilization on that planet.

Quint sighed. "No turning back now, Sakugarne... no turning back now..."

_I just hope we make it out of this in one piece..._

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

Ha! The Epilogue is done! I know this was kinda short, but read the next part for some information. As for the combo lock Quint found, the combo is not random. Once I reveal it, kudos to whoever figures out why I picked that combination. 


	10. CD Database & Author's Notes

CD DATABASE

This here is a CD Database, continuing from Mega Man & Bass, with characters that either are my own original characters (and I try not to make them Mary Sues / Gary Stus) in this series or characters that are original Mega Man characters that appear or are mentioned in this series.

101. Mr. Yakanochi  
He is the head of Chronos Institute. He created the Time Skimmer.  
"Oh no! Nothing good can come from this!"  
Good Point: Creative mind  
Bad Point: Nervous breakdowns  
Likes: Science fiction  
Dislikes: Thieves

102. Sakugarne  
Quint's support unit. He appears to be the only one of his kind with human intelligence.  
"Saku!"  
Good Point: Indestructible  
Bad Point: Gets dizzy often  
Likes: Bouncing  
Dislikes: Arguments

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: 

There are several parts to this story that are confirmed by Capcom:

1) The existence of Chronos Institute.

2) The existence of the Time Skimmer.

3) Quint actually being Mega Man.

4) Wily stole Mega Man from the future and turned him into Quint.

5) Sakugarne is the name of Quint's strange pogo-stick

Also...

1) Mr. Yakanochi is my only fan character in this fic. The unnamed humans in the first chapter and the Sakugarne-style robots don't count.

2) Quint is my favorite character. Is it surprising that I wrote a fic based on him?

3) I've never seen a Quint fanfic on this website (or any website, for that matter). The only other one is also written by me. If I'm wrong, someone kindly point me to a fanfic where Quint is the main character.

4) This is supposed to be a longer rewrite of my original Quint fanfiction. However, I changed a lot of plot elements, so I'm keeping the original on here so people can see the differences.

5) I couldn't resist doing the CD Database. I just wanted to give a little flare, as an extra for reading the fic. I always loved the CD Database concept in Mega Man & Bass.

6) There are going to be seven main books and three side stories in this series. This book will probably be the shortest in the series. The reason this book was written was to set a background for what is going to happen in the next book. I have summaries for the other books and side stories all written out. I might change it time to time, but I promise it will all flow smoothly. The summaries won't be quite as detailed on this site, but you'll be able to understand what's going to happen. The side stories are not going to feature Quint in a major role. However, they are important to the flow of the story.

If you have any more questions, either send me a signed review with your question, or a review with your question and an e-mail address. I'll answer any questions that won't blow the plot.

Thanks for reading!


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